Razor blade conditioning device



Dec. 22, 1931. c. 1. WILLCOX 1,837,352

RAZOR BLADE CONDITIONING DEVICE Filed March 19, 1926 II Q L Patented Dec. 22, 1931 PATENT OFFE".

cniinxins nwimicox, or SAVANNAH, GEORGIA RAZOR BLADE CONDITIONING DEVICE Application filed March is, 1926; Serial re/95,92

This invention relates to improvements in devices for conditioning razor blades, and is especially adapted for employment with the very flexible blades used in safety razors.

According to this invention,-an apparatus is presented uponwhich ablade is dressed or like members which have heretofore been proposed, and-which by reason of their in tricacies and delicacies of construction, usually become inoperative in use. i

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a cylindrical'dressing roller for K n I obtaining the concave dressing above referred to, and a member having a fiat finishing surface; whichare mounted upon the same rigid frame.

r Another feature of the invention is the provision of a frame to support theseveral elements which maybe easily and quickly assembled from stamped metal, and in which the several parts are positively secured in their allotted positions.

Still another feature of the invention is the provision of means by which both sides of the edge of the razor blade can he succes sively treated, and the dressing roller employed for this purpose is afforded movement in but one direction, and preferably from the center toward the edge-of the blade, to

prevent a tearing of the edge of the blade during dressing. 7

A further feature of the inventionis the provision of a razor bladeretaining means by which the finger of the operator may be employed, without danger to him, to hold the razor blade in a firm yet resilient engage- 7 ment with the rollers, so that the operator has immediately at hand the. control of the dressing action by a variation of finger pressure.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a device for operating simultaneously upon both edges of a double edged blade to obtain the concave dressing thereof; in which the respective rollers are alternately actuated during the reciprocation of the device upon a driving surface.

With these and other objects in view as will 5.5 appear in the course of the following speci fication, one form of execution of the invention has been set forth on the accompanying drawings in which: I

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a conditioning device according to this invention as employed with double edged blades of the Gillette type. r V

Fig. 2- is a cross section of the same device on a larger scale, andtaken on line 22 of Fig. 3,

Fig.3 is a longitudinal section through the device on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross section similar to Fig. 2, but on line 44of' Fig. 3.

In these drawings, a rigid frame has supported thereonthe several dressing surfaces,

' which frame is made of a sheet metal blank punched and folded into the shape repre sente d, A base plate 10 has formed therewith the flat flanges 11 and the projecting lateral members 12 which at their ends are respectivelyfolded inward toward each other and present the portions 13, 13 in parallelism and in close contiguity. An end plate 15 is 0 placed upon the outer of these members 13' and is held rigidly with respect thereto by a U-shaped bolt 16. This bolt 16 passes through apertures adjacent the ends of the base plate 10, and extends in parallelism with the projecting members 12, and finally through apertures 1n the portions 13 and the end plate 15, and is secured rigidlyin place by the nuts. 17 on its threaded ends. A finishing dressing stone 18 having flat surfaces is provided with a groove 19 extending around its exposed edges to receive the U-bolt 16, as shown in Fig. 1., Theend of the stone 18 adjacent the folded portion of the frame is r rabbetted at 20 for thicknesses slightly greater than the thickness of the sheet metal member, and exactly fits within the trough formed by the base plate 10 and the flanges 11. When the nuts 17 are drawn tight, the stone 18 is held in rigid and fixed relationwith the sheet metal member above described, and constitutes a handle therefor.

A brace arm 21 is formed integrally with one of the portions 13, and extends in parallelism with the projecting members 12 and at its end adjacent the base 10 is bent over and secured to this base 10, as at 22.

A further bracing member 23 is likewise formed with one of the members 13, and extends in parallelism with and opposite to the brace 21 and is joined to the base plate 10 and the member 22.

The dressing rollers 24, are loosely mounted on the shafts 26, and are composed of abrasive material and present continuous rigid unyielding surfaces for honing the blade. In devices already constructed, I have employed rollers formed by machining natural and artificial stone, and have in particular found that a material called artificial slate by reason of its dark slaty color and the material of which it is composed, is excellently adapted to the purpose: but it will be understood that the device is not limited to such rollers but that any other rollers 24 and 25 has associated therewith a ratchet wheel 24 or 25, which as shown in Fig. 2, is in operative engagement with a ratchet 24 or 25 The respective ratchets 24 and 25 are journaled about the arms of the U-bolt 16, and are limited in their relative rocking movements by engagement with the projecting members 12 of'the frame. Small coil springs 27 are provided in recesses of the pawls and react against the projecting members 12 to force the respective pawls into engagement with their respective ratchet wheels. It is preferred, though not essential in the construction shown, to provide small pins 31 in the members 12 to prevent a movement of the respective pawls along the bolt 16. The offsetting of the ratchet wheels below the surfaces of the rollers is to accomplish the same function.

The pawls 24 and 25 are loosely mounted upon the stationary shafts 26, and are each provided with pins 32 (Figs. 2 and 3) in the surfaces adjacent the respective rollers 24 and 25: the rollers 24 and 25 have eccentric cavities 33 at their ends to receive these pins,

drawn, whereupon the respective rollers and pawls are easily removed laterally. This structure permits an easy exchange of the dressing rollers in the case of damage without requiring a dismounting of the rest of the assembly.

The upper or inward surface of the brace 23 is curved and extends above the tangent plane to the lower generatrices of the two rollers 24 and 25. A driving strap or belt 28 is passed beneath one roller, over the brace 23 and beneath the other roller, and is thus held in driving engagement with the two rollers when the strap is drawn taut by the operator: it will be understood that one end of the strap is customarily secured to a wall hook or the like and the other is held in the operators hand during use. This driving strap or belt may be of leather, fabric, or other material: it does not come into contact with the razor blade and hence any such material may be employed.

The brace 21 has the upstandin lugs thereon to fit the central apertures of a double edged razor blade of the Gillette type in the particular illustration represented; when the blade is first laid about these lugs, it rests at its cutting edges upon the dressing rolls, and is free of the brace 21 itself.

The operation of the represented device in dressing a double edged safety razor blade of the flexible type referred to, is as follows: a double edge blade B is placed about the lugs 30, with its edges resting upon the cylindrical surfaces of the rollers 24 and 25. The operator then takes the handle 18 in his hand and extends one finger upon the upper surface of the safety razor blade B which is shown in position in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The pressure to be exerted by the finger is very slight, and should cause no substantial buckling of the blade out of plane: the exact pressure to be employed is easily judged by the operator from the friction encountered. in moving the device along the strap, and by the resilient yielding of the blade under the finger: the top of the brace 21 is slightly below the tangent plane passing through the upper generatrices of the rollers, to allow for variation in diameter of the rollers, and it is preferred at no time to buckle the blade forcibly into contact with the brace 21. The pressure should merely be sufficient to hold the blade about the lugs 30, and in uniform contact with the respective rollers. The operator then draws the driving belt or strap 28 taut and moves the device along the strap from one end toward the other, and back again. lVhile the device is moving toward the left in the position shown in Fig. 2, the roller 24 is held against rotation by the pawl 24 in engagement with the ratchet wheel 24*. The roller 25 is, however, free to move, since its ratchet wheel and pawl have a permissible movement with respect to each other it therefore is rotated by the strap 28 and the surface of this dressing roller is so moved, in this illustrative example, that the direction of dressing is from the center of the blade toward the cutting edge, and it will be understood that the roller will tend to produce a concavity in the safety razor blade at its edge. As the device moves in the opposite direction or toward the right in Fig. 2, the roller 25 will be held stationary by its pawl 25 and ratchet 25 and the roller 24-.will be free to rotate, and this in turn will then produce a concavity on the same side of the razor blade but at the opposite edge; After a few strokes have been made, the razor blade B is removed from about the lugs 30, turned upside down and replaced, and the same action is produced upon the opposite side of the blade and at both edges thereof.

The razor blade has now been honed to concavity, and is ready for finishing. This is accomplished by a flat finishing surface on the stone 18, by placing the flexible blade thereon as at B and bearing down with the fingers upon the blade adjacent its edges. It has been found in practice that, by moving the blade lightly about upon the fiat surface, the edges are quickly brought to an excellent condition for smooth shaving, and that a true and accurate cutting edge is produced.

The devices may also be employed, with or without the brace 23 by reciprocating the de vice on a suitable surface such as the palm of the hand, so that the surface comes into contact with the rollers to successively actuate them in the desired directions.

It has been found preferable to effect the rotation of the rollers in the direction illustrated, but this is not essential: it is however of importance to have the rollers act only in a single direction of movement, i. e., without reversal.

The invention is not limited to the specific form illustrated, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a rigid frame, a rotatable dressing roller journaled in said frame, means to retain a razor blade in position with one side of a cutting edge upon said roller, a driving belt, a guide to hold said belt in contact with said roller during reciprocation of the device along said belt, and means to prevent the roller from rotating in more than one direction so that the roller is driven by said belt only during reciprocationtherealong in one direction whereby said blade is dressed by movement of the roller in one direction only. i

2. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a rigid frame, a pair of rotatable dressing rollers mounted in said frame, means to retain a razor blade in position with one side presenting its cutting edges to said rollers, adrivin g 'belt,a guide to hold said belt in contact with said rollers during reciprocation of the device along said belt, and.

means to prevent one of saidv rollers from rotation during the movement of said device in one direction along said belt, and to prevent the other said ro-ller from rotation dur ing the movement of said device in the other direction.

In conditioning "device for razor blades,a rigidframe, a pair of parallel ro tatabl'e dressing rollers mounted in said frame, ratchet wheels in driven relation with" each of'said' rollers, said rollers being adapted to be rotated by reciprocation of said de vice in a direction transversely to'the axes of said rollers along a surface in contact with said rollers, and pawl's in engagement with each of said ratchet Wheels to permit one roller to be rotated and to hold the'other fast during suchm'ovemcnt in one direction, and to hold the former roller fast and permit the latter roller to be rotated during movement in the opposite direction.

4:. A razor blade conditioning device com-- prisnrg an end frame member of channel. sectron, lateral members connected to said mem ber at each end thereof and at right angles thereto, an end plate connecting and hold-- ingsaidlateralmembers spaced apart, a roller journalled in said frame member and an end plate, a handle received in the channel of the frame member and extending away from the roller parallel to the axis thereof,

means mounted on said frame member to hold a razor blade in parallelism with the roller and with one side of a cutting edge thereon, and a U- bolt extending around the handle and passing through the frame member and end plate, said bolt serving to hold the handle, frame member and end plate fixed with regard to each other.

5. In arazor blade conditioning device, a rigid frame, a cylindrical roller journaled in said frame, a ratchet wheel. fixed to said roller, a handle attached to'said frame and extending away from the roller, means on said frame to hold a razor blade in parallelism with the roller and with one side of a cutting edge thereon, a U-bolt extending around said handle and passing at its ends through said frame, means to engage said bolt to clamp said handle to said frame, and a pawl pivoted on said bolt to cooperate with said ratchet to prevent rotation of said roller in one direction.

6. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a rigid frame comprising a base plate with projecting members at the ends of said blade extending away therefrom, said members having portions at their ends extending toward each other and secured together so that a closed substantially rectangular frame is formed, flanges on said base plate extend ing away from the rectangular frame, braces connected to said portions and base plate and extending substantially parallel to said projecting members, a handle having one end fitting said trough, a rotatable dressing roller mounted in said frame, a U-bolt passing around said handle and through said base plate and portions and means to tighten said bolt whereby to hold said handle rigid with said frame, means guided by one of said 1 braces to rotate said roller, and means on another of said braces to retain said razor blade in parallelism with the roller, said U-bolt and braces stiffening said frame.

7. In a razor blade conditioning device, a rigid frame, a roller journaled in said frame, a handle having one end adapted to engage said frame, a ratchet fixed tosaid roller, a bolt engaging said frame and handle to ciamp the same rigidly together, and a pawl pivoted on said bolt and cooperating with said ratchet to prevent the rotation of said roller in more than one direction.

8. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a rigid frame, a pair of rotatable dressing rollers mounted in said frame, a

bridge member mounted on said frame between said rollers, guide lugs mounted on said bridge to retain a razor blade in position with one side presenting its cutting edges to said rollers, and a driving strap supported by said frame in contact with the rollers whereby the rollers may be rotated by relative movement of the frame and strap, said strap passing beneath said bridge. In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

CHARLES L. VVI LLGOX. 

